----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- [ Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 13:19:57 EST From: [log in to unmask] ] I would like to add another perspective to the ongoing interesting debate. It is true that mainstream economics deals with institutions, history, dynamic processes, preference evolution and host of other "institutional" concerns. But the difference between the way they do it and the way old institutionalism (including their present-day followers) would approach the same subjects is not merely a matter of individualism vs. culture. Extremely important is method. Mainstream economics (a term that doesn't require substantive agreement over theory and thus may include Stiglitz as well as Lucas; economic historian and experimentalists might be excluded) build models. they can deal with whatever problem they wish (from child-bearing to lottery planning, from development to labor relations) as long as they specify the actors, their information, their preferences and the rules of the game. They can even define "culture" in this way and discuss its significance. This approach may lead to interesting insights, or -- as others would say -- may yield misleading and/or irrelevant answers. Whatever we think about mainstream economics, it keeps out many other research strategies and numerous other exciting findings that would be published in JEI or outside the discipline (e.g., in sociology, political science, business and management science journals). Given the allocation of resource (financial resources, public attention, prestige and political connections) between MS economics and all other views and approaches, it is obvious that the impact of MS economics is much greater than that of others, not because it is better science but due to this allocation. Yuval Yonay ------------------------------------------------------ Yuval Yonay Department of Sociology and Anthropology University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905 Haifa (972-4) 824-0016; Fax: (972-4) 824-0819 Home: 6 Shaar Hagai, 34554 Haifa, (972-4) 824-7854 ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]